Spring 2014
Flavour of the Month
Hi there!
Yes, you guessed it. It’s Roses but don’t panic because some hot weather has really forced them on and frizzled the blooms which obviously shortens the season. Sad I know but that’s what happens here. Hope you enjoy these pictures!
Mme Isaac Pierrie
New Dawn
Strawberry Hills
Strawberry Hills
Ards Rover
Rosa glauca
Juno
Koenigen von Denmark
Rosa rugosa typica
Stanwell Perpetual
Quattre Saisons
Rosa webbiana
Golden Celebration
Rosa davidii
Stanwell Perpetual
Quattre Saisons
Crepuscule
Lichfield Angel
Rosa centifolia muscosa
Commandant Beuarapaire
Remember Me
Golden Celebration
Alfred de Dalmas
Mme Hardy
The Dark Lady
Othello
Charles de Mills
Rose de Rescht
Prince Charles
Francis Dubreil
The Miller
Pretty Jessica
Louis Gimard
Celsiana
Belle Poitevie
Kathyrn Morley
Kathyrn Morley
Juno
Juno
Juno
Prolifera de Redoute
Duc de Guiche
General Kleber
Schoeners Nutkana
Evelyn
Gruss an Aachen
Gruss an Aachen
Schoeners Nutkana
Evelyn
Quattre Saisons
Mary Rose
New Dawn
Albertine
La ville de Bruxelles
Getrude Jekyll
Evelyn
Mme Isaac Pierrie
Cheers!
Still more Roses. I know, its getting out of hand.
Evelyn
Mme Isaac Pierrie
Mme Hardy
A bowl of Roses
More Roses
Hi there!
Yet again I’m here to bombard you with more photos of roses. Well that’s what the heading says, so what were you expecting, daisies? Sad old day today, the wind has been howling all day. Whoosh, there goes’ all the petals. At least the breeze will smell wonderful.
Cheers!
Cardinal de Richelieu
Tea Rambler
Tea Rambler
Tea Rambler
Zephirin Drouhin
Zephirin Drouhin
Euphrates
Rosa davidii
The Bishop
Golden Celebration
Golden Celebration
Tradescant
Gloire de Guilan
Gloire de Guilan
Mrs Doreen Pike
Jacques Cartier
Konegin von Denmark
Gruss an Aachen
Schoeners Nutkana
Evelyn
Evelyn
Pretty Jessica
The Miller
Conditorium
Francis Dubreuil
Prince of Wales
The Knight
Alain Blanchard
Charles de Mills
rugosa typica
Sissinghurst Castle
Cardinal de Richelieu
Belle Poitevine
Sissinghurst Castle
The Endeavor
Marcel Bourgouin
Rosa setipoda
Cardinal de Richelieu
Cardinal de Richelieu
Darcy Bussell
Duc de Guiche
Duc de Guiche
Nuits de Young
Rose du roi afluers Paupre
Duc de Guiche
Kathryn Morley
Conditorium
Alba Maxima
Konegin von Denmark
Konegin von Denmark
Thelma Jean
The Prince
Charles de Mills
Dupontii
Fantin Latour
William Lobb
William Shakespeare
The Dark Lady
The Dark Lady
Fantin Latour
Rosa fedtshenkoana
Mme Hardy
Mme Hardy
Mothers Love
Nevada
Nevada
centifolia muscosa
Mme Isaac pereire
Albertine
Albertine
Crepuscule
Crepescule
Jayne Austin
Roses
Hi There!
Welcome to my favourite time of year. Yet again spring is well and truly underway and the reminder today of a warm low to mid 3o degree day, just reminding us that summer is just around the corner. If we could just bypass summer and go straight to Autumn that would be very useful. Then I would have my two favourite seasons back to back. Any way here are some photos to enjoy. Cheers!
Mothers Love
Blanchfluer
Anais Segalis
Eglantyne
Nuits de Young
Blanchfluer
Mme Hardy
The Prince
The Dark Lady
The Dark Lady
Prolifera de Redoute
William Shakespeare
Fantin La tour
Alain Blanchard
Charles de Mills
Duc de Cambridge
Pretty Jessica
Pretty Jessica
Rosa setipoda
Evelyn
Evelyn
Koenigen von Denmark
Rosa alba maxima
Souvenir de la Malmaison
Nevada
Jayne Austin
Albertine
Pompon Blanc Parfait
La Ville de Bruxelles
Orphelene de Juliet
La Ville de Bruxelles
Crepescule
Altaica
Rosa xanthina
Fruhlingsgold
Fruhlingsgold
Rosa harisonii
Sigh….
Hi There!
Whenever I see this plant, mostly when it’s in flower I just sigh or even a MMMmmmm or AAHHhhhhh and amazingly it’s not a rose. But! it is somehow connected to them, all will be revealed later. In case you’re wondering, I’m talking about Malus ioensis plena. Also known as the Betchel crab Apple, this beautiful tree only grows to about 6m tall by about 3-4 wide. This means it can be planted in lots of smaller gardens making it possibly one of the most common crab apples or even of all smaller tree’s. Common you say! Well yes its very common but in gardening terms common actually means something that has been tried and tested and survived and performed and continued to perform over and over. I know if you say common it sounds dull but hey, have a look here.
Seriously, how beautiful is that!
It’s seriously just a sea of blossoms. Now how is it connected to roses? Well simply put it belongs to the Rosaceae family. How? Read on. The majority of species in Rosaceae have leaves with serrated margins and a pair of stipules where the leaf joins the stem. Branch spines and prickles are common on trees and shrubs in the rose family. There are plenty of more similarities that put crab apples into Rosaceae. Simply put if you look at a human family group the offspring of the parents will have distinguishing marks and looks that make them look like their parents to some degree, and if you have cousins, their features will match yours in some way(mostly).
So we know roses have lots of thorns, this crab apple has sharp spine like tips to its branches. Get the connection? Anyway, enough of that stuff, more photo’s I think.
Even the buds are gorgeous!
I think the photos say more than all my ramblings….
Cheers!
A few more things
Hi There!
Todays stroll revealed a few more things of interest, take this for example, Anemone sylvestris from central and western Europe which looks quite delicate but is found in dry deciduous woodlands and also meadows. So it may have some hardiness to it, I have yet to test this in my garden. I could imagine a whole lot of these flowering under some tree’s somewhere.
Here’s something interesting as well. Linaria aeruginea which hails from Spain and Portugal. This plant is a small perennial, say 15-30 cm both ways with interesting coloured snapdragon like flowers, I think its name means rust coloured. The flowers certainly have splashes of rust colouring on them!
Here is Aquilegia saximontana which comes from North America and is endemic to the Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rocky Mountain Columbine. It grows to only about 15-20 cm and has dainty lavender and white flowers with hooked spurs protruding behind the flowers.
Here’s a side view
I think these would look good massed planted, actually any Columbine would look good massed planted.
Cheers!
A Few things
Hi There!
I like to take a stroll through the garden most days, but springtime is a great time to do it because there is something happening all the time. Plants are growing, buds are forming, flowers are opening and the weeds are growing. Weeds are plants too you know. They just happen to be in the wrong place for me. Thistles growing in the chook yard would be fantastic! Chooks love them, but when their in the garden it means work. See what I mean: chook yard-thistles, magic! Thistles-garden, non magical!
Now to a few things I saw today. Here is Rosa xanthina looking magical in full flower, a great rose from china with primrose yellow single flowers. It grows too about 2.5-3 metres each way and flowers once during spring.
I know this photo doesn’t really do it justice, but it is quite stunning seeing it in full flower. Below is a closeup of the flowers.
Here’s another great rose, Rosa omiensis pteracantha comes from china again, with a funny name again but commonly known as the Red winged thorn rose, has super large translucent red thorns on new growth. This rose has unique single flowers which only have four petals, I think it’s the only rose to do so and their only about the size of a 10 cent piece and quite insignificant really, but alluring at the same time. Confused? So am I.
While we’re thinking about roses, here’s another one. Rosa fedtshenkoana another fabulously named rose from a country other than China. Russia, da! that’s right Russia. This rose has pure white single flowers which are simply smashing!
Quite a thorny brute too.
One more rose to round them out would be “Fruhlingsgold” simply put, a sight to behold in full flower in my opinion that is. Pale lemon or pale yellow or pale egg yolk or whatever colour you think it is semi-double flowers on a large shrub to about 2-2.5 metres both ways simply make for a magnificent visual impact.
Up close and personal you will hear the mass sound of bee’s at work.
One more photo for good measure.
Now we will move on to something quite different. Not sure what I call this?
Here’s Aster alpinus looking all cheerful and everything, I think I need more of these.
Aquilegia alpina doing what it does best at this time of year, looking brilliant!
We will finish off with a bright splash of colour from Eschscholzia ‘Red Chief” just to really startle you!
This is a Californian poppy which certainly makes an impact with its bright red/orange flowers imposed on grey foliage. I think I need more of these!
Cheers!
huon perennials 